Publications by authors named "Dijk M"

Unlabelled: In this unblinded multi-center stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial the effectiveness of the nurse-led ZENN-intervention was tested in promoting self-management skills in comparison to standard care among heart, lung and kidney transplant recipients. This intervention is based on behaviour change theories and was conducted in four sessions over 6 months at the outpatient clinic. The experimental group received standard care, plus the ZENN-intervention, while the control group received only standard care.

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Background: The effectiveness of implementing fall prevention interventions (FPI) among hospitalised adults exhibits variability. Our review explored implementation strategies for FPIs, how these strategies are operationalised and their impact on fall rates and adherence.

Methods: Databases were searched up to October 2024 for studies reporting the implementation of FPIs in hospitalised adults.

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Objectives: Cellular senescence and endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) are profibrotic cellular processes involved in systemic sclerosis (SSc), but how they respond to treatment is largely unknown.

Methods: Skin biopsies from diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) patients who underwent either autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) or cyclophosphamide pulse (iv CYC) treatment were collected before and 6 months after randomisation in the Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation International Scleroderma (ASTIS) trial. The extent of fibrosis, inflammation, senescence, EndMT and tissue remodelling were examined in histopathology.

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  • Thiopurine drugs are crucial for managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but they can cause side effects, particularly thiopurine-induced myelosuppression (TIM).
  • A study in the Netherlands explored the frequency of the NUDT15*3 genetic polymorphism and its connection to TIM in IBD patients.
  • Out of 988 patients, 1.3% had the NUDT15*3 variant; among those on thiopurines, 50% of carriers developed TIM compared to just 2.3% of non-carriers, indicating the importance of genetic testing before treatment.
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Purpose: To meet the global dietary protein demands, a trend towards plant-based protein (PBP) sources to replace animal-derived protein is currently ongoing. However, PBPs may not have the same anabolic capacity to stimulate muscle protein synthesis (MPS) as dairy proteins. For vulnerable populations with specific medical needs, it is especially important to validate the anabolic properties of PBPs.

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  • Accurate assessment of physical activity in hospitalized geriatric rehabilitation patients can be challenging due to slow walking speeds and reliance on walking aids; this study aimed to validate the MOX activity monitor's effectiveness in identifying different activity levels such as sedentary, standing, and dynamic movements.
  • The study involved 20 participants over the age of 70 who used walking aids; the MOX monitor was tested for one week, and activities were filmed to evaluate its classification accuracy, with results showing minimal error rates across all activities.
  • The findings concluded that the MOX activity monitor is not only highly accurate but also easy to use, indicating its potential as a practical tool for assessing physical activity in this specific patient population.
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We demonstrate divergent incorporation and washout patterns for EPA and DHA following high and low-dose EPA+DHA incubation in C2C12 myotubes, with higher concentrations favoring n-3 PUFA incorporation. Lower n-3 PUFA concentrations increased MPS without further upregulating the mTORC1 signaling pathway. Our study provides novel insights into the temporal incorporation and washout dynamics of EPA and DHA and, specifically, their combined effect on MPS, thereby advancing knowledge regarding dietary n-3 PUFA prescription to promote skeletal muscle health in humans.

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Background: Given both the large volume and manifold preferences of patients with depression, the availability of various effective treatments is important. Psychodynamic psychotherapy (PDT) has received less research in comparison to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aimed to establish whether short-term psychodynamic supportive psychotherapy (SPSP) is non-inferior to CBT in the treatment of MDD.

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Background: An open organizational culture in the workplace represents an environment where information, ideas, and feedback are freely exchanged among all members, regardless of position or rank. Currently, there are no valid survey instruments to measure this culture within a healthcare context. To address this gap, we developed a survey instrument to measure self-perceived open organizational culture at a university pharmacy using a test re-test study design.

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Background: Assessment of static hyperinflation severity is crucial to identify COPD patients eligible for lung volume reduction. The current recommendation of residual volume ≥175% predicted may need to be reconsidered owing to potential differences between the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) and the European Community for Steel and Coal (ECSC) reference equations for residual volume and concerns about using percentage of predicted.

Methods: We compared the residual volume reference values derived from the GLI and ECSC equations using mathematically simulated data and used a receiver operating characteristic curve to establish a new GLI-derived z-score cut-off for residual volume using body plethysmography data from patients with severe COPD.

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  • Abdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion (aNRP) is a technique used before organ donation that helps evaluate organ quality during controlled donation after circulatory death (cDCD).
  • A study compared pancreatic islet isolation outcomes from aNRP donors to those from cDCD and Donation after Brain Death (DBD) donors, finding that aNRP yielded significantly more islets.
  • The study showed that islets from aNRP donors demonstrated good functionality, suggesting that this technique could enhance the availability and quality of pancreases for islet transplantation.
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  • Juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG) is a type of skin tumor mostly found in children, but some cases occur in other parts of the body, and their genetic causes are not fully understood.* -
  • A study analyzed 16 children and 5 adults with extracutaneous JXG using advanced sequencing, finding that numerous genetic alterations, especially related to kinase fusions, were present in most children.* -
  • The findings indicate that while surgery is common for treatment, some cases can regress on their own, and specific genetic alterations could help inform better treatment options in the future.*
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  • Identifying early-stage mycosis fungoides (MF), a type of skin cancer, is hard because it looks a lot like harmless skin conditions.
  • Researchers are using deep learning (DL), a type of computer technology, to help doctors tell the difference between MF and these benign conditions by looking at images from skin biopsies.
  • The study showed that this DL method can get pretty close to the accuracy of expert doctors, which is promising for improving cancer diagnoses in the future.
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Introduction: Currently, there is a lack of bronchoscopic lung volume reduction options that do not depend on fissure integrity. Endobronchial coils have been extensively studied to address this need but exhibited variable patient response and have been discontinued. Lung tension device (LTD) coils represent the next-generation coil treatment.

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Self-propelled particles possessing permanent magnetic dipole moments occur naturally in magnetotactic bacteria and can be built into man-made systems such as active colloids or micro-robots. Yet, the interplay between self-propulsion and anisotropic dipole-dipole interactions on dynamic self-assembly in three dimensions (3D) remains poorly understood. We conduct Brownian dynamics simulations of active dipolar particles in 3D, focusing on the low-density regime, where dipolar hard spheres tend to form chain-like aggregates and percolated networks with increasing dipolar coupling strength.

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Background And Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the plan quality of our deep learning-based automated treatment planning method for robustly optimized intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans in patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPC). The assessment was conducted through a retrospective and prospective study, blindly comparing manual plans with deep learning plans.

Materials And Methods: A set of 95 OPC patients was split into training (n = 60), configuration (n = 10), test retrospective study (n = 10), and test prospective study (n = 15).

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Purpose: In an effort to reduce waitlist mortality, extended criteria donor organs, including those from donation after circulatory death (DCD), are being used with increasing frequency. These donors carry an increased risk for postoperative complications, and balancing donor-recipient risks is currently based on generalized nomograms. Abdominal normothermic regional perfusion (aNRP) enables individual evaluation of DCD organs, but a gold standard to determine suitability for transplantation is lacking.

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BackgroundVaccine uptake differs between social groups. Mobile vaccination units (MV-units) were deployed in the Netherlands by municipal health services in neighbourhoods with low uptake of COVID-19 vaccines.AimWe aimed to evaluate the impact of MV-units on vaccine uptake in neighbourhoods with low vaccine uptake.

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Aim: To explore barriers and facilitators for reducing low-value home-based nursing care.

Design: Qualitative exploratory study.

Method: Seven focus group interviews and two individual interviews were conducted with homecare professionals, managers and quality improvement staff members within seven homecare organizations.

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  • * A systematic review was conducted to assess existing national guidelines and literature on contraindications for vaginal breech delivery, revealing limited consensus and significant gaps in scientific evidence.
  • * Ultimately, the review identified 11 contraindications with only two having strong supportive evidence, highlighting the need for further research to clarify guidelines in this area.
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  • A family history of depression increases the risk for mental health issues in kids, but the genetic reasons behind this link are not fully understood.
  • Researchers analyzed data from nearly 12,000 children and found that higher polygenic scores (PGSs) for depression were connected to a family history of depression and various mental health problems in the children.
  • The study concluded that increased genetic risk for depression partially explains how depression can be passed down through generations, highlighting the importance of considering both family history and genetics in identifying children at risk for mental health issues.
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Prenatal depression, a common pregnancy-related risk with a prevalence of 10-20 %, may affect in utero development and socioemotional and neurodevelopmental outcomes in the next generation. Although there is a growing body of work that suggests prenatal depression has an independent and long-lasting effect on offspring outcomes, important questions remain, and findings often do not converge. The present review examines work carried out in the last decade, with an emphasis on studies focusing on mechanisms and leveraging innovative technologies and study designs to fill in gaps in research.

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Background: Having multiple previous generations with depression in the family increases offspring risk for psychopathology. Parental depression has been associated with smaller subcortical brain volumes in their children, but whether two prior generations with depression is associated with further decreases is unclear.

Methods: Using two independent cohorts, 1) a Three-Generation Study (TGS, N = 65) with direct clinical interviews of adults and children across all three generations, and 2) the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD, N = 10,626) of 9-10 year-old children with family history assessed by a caregiver, we tested whether having more generations of depression in the family was associated with smaller subcortical volumes (using structural MRI).

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